Country

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

My friend Steve truly is a master at HDR - both in getting the shot and processing beautiful images. He graciously agreed to come give me some help this afternoon and I cannot begin to thank him enough!

I posted this barn this past January when had snow. I stopped by yesterday evening to get a HDR shot.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

These pretty flowers set against a blue wall made for the perfect photograph. I then added Kim Klassen's Silent Night texture. Be sure to join her Texture Lovin' List and receive a free texture, including examples of how she used it, each Friday.

Friday, April 15, 2011

I found this macro in my archives. It is the remainder of a tulip with just a single petal hanging on.

Once again the colors are a little wonky because of my issue with blogger (even though I compensated with the saturation) but you get the idea. I love the smoky-purplish color of the inside; I am not sure what you call the prong-like structures. Anyone?

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

This is my first decent waterfall photo and I am pretty pleased with the result. There were a lot of people sitting on the rocks of these small falls so I had to crop and did not get the best angle, but the water turned out nicely.

It sure would be nice to be sitting by those falls today on a blanket with a good book..... ;)

Monday, April 11, 2011

After having been away for spring break this past week, it was sooo hard getting up early this morning. My little guy is counting down the days until summer vacation!

This is a dandelion bloom. I just love the little squiggly spirals in the middle. It puzzles me to no end why my yellow photos lose some of their vibrance and have a more green/blue hue after being downloaded into blogger. Does anyone have any ideas?

Be sure to visit Lisa's Chaos for Macro Monday. It is a fun way to start the week.

Monday, March 28, 2011

I am so overwhelmed busy right now, and it is mostly because of work, but more honestly Steve HDR! In my tiny amount of free time I am reading, learning and when its NOT raining - out shooting. This obession shall pass....

This is my first single HDR image; normally there are three bracketed images. I found this pretty blue treasure in my daddy's barn. I have been in, and around this barn lots of time over the past years and cannot believe that I missed this sweet, blue wooden wagon. It was built by my daddy's uncle over 60 years ago. I just love it!

Thank you to all of you who have continued to visit and comment! I love you all, and will be stopping by this week - "pinky-promise." This is what my youngest son used to say when he meant that you had better keep a promise!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

I fell in love with HDR images after I first saw some of Steve's images featured in our local newspaper. Since that time he has become my mentor, and a great friend. He is such a kind and genuine person, not to mention incredibly talented! Be sure to check out his blog, you will fall in love with his images just as I did.

This is my very first HDR image. It is by no means perfect, but its a start!

I apologize for not commenting on your blogs. Unfortunately, work has kept me crazy busy and hopefully will be letting up soon.

Friday, March 18, 2011

I am not sure what type of weed/wildflower this is, but I feel in love with the bright yellow blooms. After editing in Lightroom and PSE 8 and then loading onto the blog they do not appear as yellow and I have no idea why. Any ideas?

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

This is the back view of the largest barn that is on my daddy's farm. We used to play in and around this barn the most when I was a child. This photo was taken a couple of weeks ago on a mostly cloudy day. The the sky is blown out, as well as the tin roof. This shot is SOOC other than a little bit of cropping.

I tried adding several textures, but was unable to get the look I was after. Finally, I decided to use Topaz Adjust after making some basic edits with PS Elements. My friend Steve introduced me to this wonderful product and I highly recommend it! You can try it free for 30 days, as well as all of their products. Topaz Adjust is a plugin that is compatible with PhotoShop, Lightroom and PS Elements (and more I am sure). It is reasonably priced and you can find the link on Steve's page.

This is after my edit with Topaz Adjust. There are different presets to choose from (this is Spicify), and Topaz allows you to have full control over the strength of various settings including hue/saturation, detail strength, sharpness, contrast, noise reduction and much more. I am pleased that the sky is no longer washed out and details of the barn and tin roof are more visible. What do you think?

I will share additional photos/views with in the coming weeks over at Barn Charm. I found a pretty neat surprise underneath this particular side of the shed and hope to be able to edit it as a single HDR image in the next few weeks.

I am also linking up with The Creative Exchange over at Lisa Gordon Photography. The theme of The Creative Exchange is "Your Camera in One Hand, Your Heart in The Other." This fits perfectly with my love of all old barns, but especially this family treasure!
xoxo,
SouthernSass

Sunday, March 6, 2011

I have been so slack busy the past few weeks that I have missed out on Macro Monday hosted by Lisa each Monday. It is always such a fun way for me to start the week. Look at this wildflower/weed that I found in my neighbor's yard (yep - Marvin and Lynda's again!) after the rain this morning.

We are not sure what the correct name for it is, but in this particular shot it looks like an alien or some sort of cartoon-ish character. It really cracks me up!

This second photo is my interpretation of it's various body parts. Gotta love the humor found in nature!

Have a wonderful week and be sure to visit Lisa for more great Monday Macro shots!

Also, check out this great give-away over at Rita's The Coffeeshop Blog. Color Inc. is giving away a 16 x 20 framed gallery wrapped canvas. Wouldn't you love to win that? I sure would!

Friday, March 4, 2011

I took this macro shots this afternoon with my trusty Nikon Coolpix P90. It is not a DSLR, but it sure has a great macro mode. Here again I was taking over my neighbor's yard (I love you Marvin and Lynda!) across the street. Their plum tree is just starting to flower and is incredible! Plus they have bird feeders that I am now beginning to stalk. It is great to have such wonderful friends!

I did some basic edits in Photoshop Elements, but it was pretty great SOOC. Be sure to visit here for more great Flowers on Saturday.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

My wonderful husband gave me a bouquet of beautiful red tulips on Valentine's day. Recently I borrowed my friend Steve's (visit his blog here for some great HDR photos and much more!) zoom/macro lens and had some fun with it on a warm, sunny day a few weeks ago.

These shots were taken outside and the bright sun was shining directly into the center of the flower. It was not the best time of day to take shots, but definitely the warmest part of the day. I enjoyed being outside and experimenting with something new.

I have been super-swamped with work and I have been missing my blogging buddies! I will be catching up with everyone over the weekend!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

This lovely barn has seen better days, but it is still standing and is full of charm and character! I especially love the blue pan that was probably used to hold feed or water for the animals that were once kept inside.

This picture was taken on a partly cloudy day. The sky and foreground are both washed out. Other than applying a texture - anything else I tried did not satisfy me. Feel free to shout out any editing tips!

I definitely prefer the aged/grungy look the texture gives this beautiful old place.

Be sure to visit Barn Charm for more great barns. Also, be sure to visit here for midweek blues.

**Lisa Gordon hosts The Creative Exchange each week but I forgot to link up before I posted last night. This place holds a special place in my heart and I loved spending time there this past weekend taking photos and remembering good times from my childhood.

For those who are wondering - those are collard greens planted in front. Years ago it was fenced in and was used to hold cows.

Monday, February 21, 2011

This is SOOC shot of a morning glory taken back in the summer. This week the theme isPINK for Shoot and Edit with Jill and Ashley. Be sure to check it out as they both are great photographers and offer awesome tips and tutorials! I will be editing it this week and you can see the final product on Thursday.

I am also submitting this to Macro Monday over at Lisa's Chaos. It is always a fun way to get the week started!

Saturday, February 19, 2011

I took this photo today while outside enjoying the beautiful, bright sunshine and warm weather that we are having. I really thought I was imaging this little creature as he was quite far up in our red maple tree, but sure enough he was there! I am not sure if its a butterfly or moth of some sort, but its good to see them out and about. Spring surely cannot be too far away here in our corner of the South!

Be sure to link up with Katie for more inspiring Snapshot and Scriptures.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Happy Friday everyone! It has been a crazy week, and I am looking forward to enjoying the beautiful weather this weekend. I am going to visit my daddy and am very excited about that. I love going home!

Violas have such cheery little faces and bright colors. These were on my neighbor's front porch. They always have such pretty flowers year round, and lucky for me they don't mind me using their yard as my photography playground. Thanks Marvin and Lynda!

Have a fantastic weekend and enjoy the warmer weather that most of us on the east coast are having. Today's forecasted high is 77 and I am loving it! For more great macros, be sure to visit Blogging from Bolivia.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

I took this photo back during our snow/ice event. My poor basil plant is past dead, but it made for an interesting subject.

I am experimenting with layers and masks. AUGH.... Ashley has a great tutorial this week and she inspires me to keep trying! After playing around with the high pass filter and adding Pioneer Woman's define and sharpen action, I decided to add a Kim Klassen texture to finish it off.

Happy Friday and I hope you have an absolutely wonderful weekend! We are supposed to have temps in the mid 60s and I feel a barn search/road trip coming on.... :)

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

I really need a larger zoom lens, but this shot will have to do. This pretty little bird was hanging out in the middle of a field on Sunday. It was a beautiful blue-sky day without a cloud in sight and the temps were in the low 60s.

He/she seemed to be looking out over the field searching for something to eat. Suprisingly, the forecast is for snow late Wednesday night/early Thursday morning. 1 inch of snow is nothing to my other blogging friends, but it is a big deal here in the South! However, I really am ready for warmer weather and more sun-filled days.

I hope you are all having a fabulous week! Be sure to visit here for more great Midweek Blues.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

We left town yesterday to celebrate my huband's birthday and spent the night with one of my most favorite people on earth - my beloved SIL Karen. I am so blessed to have her in my life; she is truly one of my very best friends and I love her dearly!!

This particular picture was taken at a good family friend's farm. It is so peaceful there and I think this scripture fits the pic perfectly. Over the years when feeling down and out, I have always clung to this particular scripture and have reminded myself over and over - just have faith the size of a mustard seed.

Be sure to visit Katie for a great blog hop and more beautiful photos and scripture.